Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Calling all Prayer Warriors!
Just a quick update: we begin traveling on Thursday. I head to Norfolk with some of my dad’s family and my traveling buddies head to London. We meet up on the 27th and board our flight to Milan. Because of all the snow and what the English consider “Crazy” weather, many flights have been canceled and many people are still stuck in the airport. It would be greatly appreciated if you could pray that our flights would continue on time and that everything would go smoothly, because we already have train tickets and hostels booked that we would not get refunded for. We land in Milan at 11:55 pm and our train leaves at 11 am. Another one of our travelers has a sketchy train ticket which is 4 days different than the rest of us and we’re trying to get that sorted now as well. Please pray that everything works out and that God is glorified through our attitudes and through the way we handle situations. Thanks!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Well, it’s all officially over.
1st term of course. This last week completely whizzed by so incredibly fast it was unreal. Nothing too exciting happened until Tuesday night, where we had our Christmas banquet. So fun! We got to dress up all fancy like and enjoy a good meal, better than Thanksgiving in my mind. The staff served us and everything was so delicious. We even got glass cups! Woo-hoo! I guess we’ve officially been deemed big kids now. ;) It was so fun to see everyone all dressed up and fancy, and all the boys looking quite dashing in their “formal” wear. It was a good night. We ended it with a Kailey, some awesome Scottish dancing that is just fantastic. A great way to end the term I believe.
Wednesday was absolutely crazy. We had one lecture in the morning which was basically just a “this is how you clean your room” lecture. From there we headed out to finish packing and deep-clean our rooms. However, being the procrastinator that I am, I just basically sat there until I knew I needed to start and just dove in. Spending 5 hours cleaning and packing is NOT how I would want to spend my day…at all! But, I succeeded, and our room was pristine and beautiful, and totally empty. It was really sad, especially since it meant that my lovely roomies were leaving me. Soon, it became time for those going to London to leave. It was so sad, and everyone was feeling it. What’s crazy is, this is only for 3 weeks. I don’t even want to imagine what it will be like at the end of school when I’ll probably never see most of them again. We’ve really grown into a family here, and I am absolutely loving it.
Today was just depressing. There’s only about 20 or so of us left here, and that’s including staff. The castle is quiet and empty and dark and scary and lonely. It isn’t fun. We keep running around yelling for everyone wondering where they’ve all gone. We started an easy day of work that lasted 2 hours of our time running around all the rooms throwing things away and getting dirty sheets. Once that was over and I said goodbye to my roomie Pam, we planned Christmas. I can now officially say that we have everything except for a place to stay in Paris done. Hooray for fast internet when everyone leaves!
This week will go by fast, and I am so excited to start traveling. We have Saturday and Sunday off and then 3 days of work before we head out. I can’t wait for all these adventures.
Well, I’m bored of writing. So I’m going to enjoy the fast internet while I still can.
Have a wonderful day!!
Wednesday was absolutely crazy. We had one lecture in the morning which was basically just a “this is how you clean your room” lecture. From there we headed out to finish packing and deep-clean our rooms. However, being the procrastinator that I am, I just basically sat there until I knew I needed to start and just dove in. Spending 5 hours cleaning and packing is NOT how I would want to spend my day…at all! But, I succeeded, and our room was pristine and beautiful, and totally empty. It was really sad, especially since it meant that my lovely roomies were leaving me. Soon, it became time for those going to London to leave. It was so sad, and everyone was feeling it. What’s crazy is, this is only for 3 weeks. I don’t even want to imagine what it will be like at the end of school when I’ll probably never see most of them again. We’ve really grown into a family here, and I am absolutely loving it.
Today was just depressing. There’s only about 20 or so of us left here, and that’s including staff. The castle is quiet and empty and dark and scary and lonely. It isn’t fun. We keep running around yelling for everyone wondering where they’ve all gone. We started an easy day of work that lasted 2 hours of our time running around all the rooms throwing things away and getting dirty sheets. Once that was over and I said goodbye to my roomie Pam, we planned Christmas. I can now officially say that we have everything except for a place to stay in Paris done. Hooray for fast internet when everyone leaves!
This week will go by fast, and I am so excited to start traveling. We have Saturday and Sunday off and then 3 days of work before we head out. I can’t wait for all these adventures.
Well, I’m bored of writing. So I’m going to enjoy the fast internet while I still can.
Have a wonderful day!!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
What a crazy week!
There’s only 5 days left until the break and it’s going fast! Let’s see, what happened this week? Well, first off, we did not go to my family’s for breakfast, because the night before, it snowed 1 inch, and they were afraid we wouldn’t be able to get to their house….nope. I’m not kidding. They really freak out over snow here. It was okay though, because we still had Secret Santa, and it was really fun. I got some yummy chocolate and colored pencils. The only funny thing about one of the chocolates, unknown to my secret Santa since most of the ingredients were in German, was that they were alcohol-soaked truffles. Whoops! I put one in my mouth and instantly made the weirdest face…during lectures by the way, and everyone looked at me like I crazy. Oh geez. Those things were nasty. Why do people like alcohol? It’s GROSS! Well, that was fun. My poor brother felt so bad. After giving away my truffles to people not telling them what was in it to see their faces, I kept the bag to remember. Oh goodness.
Thursday was the best day so far. While talking to my grandparents…suddenly the lights went out and machines started beeping (the phones still worked though strangely). Turns out someone had cut through a wire, and we, including 1000 other homes in the country, were without power…until around 3 in the morning. It was SO FUN! We all sat in the hallway with the stairs, by the fire, hung out, huddled together to stay warm…since the heat was off of course, and then had a candle-lit dinner of bread, chips, and Cadbury Chocolate Spread (Rival to Nutella, and almost better). Later, we all sat on the stairs and sang Christmas carols. It was so great. It was really nice just to be able to fellowship with each other and hang out. It was a really nice time and it’s probably going to be one of my favorite memories. The downside to all this fun-ness? In our side of the Conference Hall, we do not heat, only space heaters. And guess what doesn’t work without power? Our lovely space heater. So our rooms were freezing. I probably wore all my clothes that night and never moved. It wasn’t so bad. But it wasn’t great either. ;)
Yesterday (Friday), we went back to Carnforth to plan more Christmas. Now, we have a hostel in Venice, and a train to Rome. We’re getting there! Now we only need places to stay in Rome, a way to get from Rome to Paris, places to stay in Paris, and then a way back to Manchester. If anyone knows anyone who lives in any places who would like to have 4 poor college students stay with them, it would be greatly appreciated! Haha.
Well, tonight is the talent show. And knowing some of these people, it’s going to be ridiculous.
Have a great day!!
Thursday was the best day so far. While talking to my grandparents…suddenly the lights went out and machines started beeping (the phones still worked though strangely). Turns out someone had cut through a wire, and we, including 1000 other homes in the country, were without power…until around 3 in the morning. It was SO FUN! We all sat in the hallway with the stairs, by the fire, hung out, huddled together to stay warm…since the heat was off of course, and then had a candle-lit dinner of bread, chips, and Cadbury Chocolate Spread (Rival to Nutella, and almost better). Later, we all sat on the stairs and sang Christmas carols. It was so great. It was really nice just to be able to fellowship with each other and hang out. It was a really nice time and it’s probably going to be one of my favorite memories. The downside to all this fun-ness? In our side of the Conference Hall, we do not heat, only space heaters. And guess what doesn’t work without power? Our lovely space heater. So our rooms were freezing. I probably wore all my clothes that night and never moved. It wasn’t so bad. But it wasn’t great either. ;)
Yesterday (Friday), we went back to Carnforth to plan more Christmas. Now, we have a hostel in Venice, and a train to Rome. We’re getting there! Now we only need places to stay in Rome, a way to get from Rome to Paris, places to stay in Paris, and then a way back to Manchester. If anyone knows anyone who lives in any places who would like to have 4 poor college students stay with them, it would be greatly appreciated! Haha.
Well, tonight is the talent show. And knowing some of these people, it’s going to be ridiculous.
Have a great day!!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
It snowed...again.
Yeah yea, sure, it’s pretty. But I still prefer rain. Last week was great, great teaching from Stuart and Jill Briscoe, great fun with friends, and great planning of Christmas. We’ve still got a lot more to do but so far we’ve got train tickets to Manchester, then go to my 2nd cousin Debbie’s house for Christmas, then we have a flight to Milan and a hostel in Milan. The last thing we got figured out was a train from Milan to Venice. Now we just have to figure out hostels in Venice, train to Rome, places to stay in Rome, a flight to Paris, places to stay in Paris, then a flight back to Capernwray. It’s crazy planning all this, but I’m really excited for all of it. It will be a trip of a lifetime, that’s for sure.
I can’t believe there is only 10 days left until Christmas break. I realized though how sad I am to not be coming home. It’s weird not being home. But I’m excited for where I’m at. I have to switch rooms when 2nd term starts and I am a little bummed, even though I get to move into the castle. I just love my roommates and my suitemates. The 7 of us have gotten really close and I’m going to miss them, and our awesomely warm rooms. However, our pipes to the bathroom froze, so we now have no cold water, and in order to flush the toilet, we must fill up buckets with water from the shower and dump it in. Yeah. It’s been interesting. Especially since they don’t know when they’ll be able to fix it. Yay for life experiences.
Tomorrow we have family group, and we’re going to Trevor and Viv’s house for a traditional Irish Fry-Up breakfast and have Secret Santa. I’m excited. Trevor and Viv are great. Especially since yesterday, my dear old Pop Trevor dressed up as a Whoopie cushion and danced up the aisle to the stage to the song “Waving Flag” by Matisyahu. Yep. That’s my family dad. It’s like the Joshua Mock Rock all over again.
It’s December now so the bulk of our assignments are mostly done. We only have 1 assignment due before Christmas and so that’s nice. When we get back we start preparing for our 10 day outreach, which I’m really excited about. We find out where we’re going once we get back. I’m so glad for a bit of a break. It’s been so stressful because it’s the first year of the accreditation, so no one really knows what we’re doing. But that’s okay. It’s working out, slowly. It’ll be nice to get college credit though, that’s for sure.
We have our Walk Thru the New Testament test tomorrow…and I can honestly say I do NOT know this one as good as the Old Testament. But it’s okay, I have all afternoon and tomorrow to work on it. Boy do I have lots to do though. I’ve even started to make lists. Wow, never thought I’d ever do that. I’m slowly becoming an organized person…oh no! ;)
Well, I don’t really know what else to write about so that’s it for now. I’ll try to update a little bit later in the week when there’s more exciting news. This was basically just me throwing-up all that’s going on this week onto my little blog. Enjoy!
Merry 19 days ‘till Christmas!
I can’t believe there is only 10 days left until Christmas break. I realized though how sad I am to not be coming home. It’s weird not being home. But I’m excited for where I’m at. I have to switch rooms when 2nd term starts and I am a little bummed, even though I get to move into the castle. I just love my roommates and my suitemates. The 7 of us have gotten really close and I’m going to miss them, and our awesomely warm rooms. However, our pipes to the bathroom froze, so we now have no cold water, and in order to flush the toilet, we must fill up buckets with water from the shower and dump it in. Yeah. It’s been interesting. Especially since they don’t know when they’ll be able to fix it. Yay for life experiences.
Tomorrow we have family group, and we’re going to Trevor and Viv’s house for a traditional Irish Fry-Up breakfast and have Secret Santa. I’m excited. Trevor and Viv are great. Especially since yesterday, my dear old Pop Trevor dressed up as a Whoopie cushion and danced up the aisle to the stage to the song “Waving Flag” by Matisyahu. Yep. That’s my family dad. It’s like the Joshua Mock Rock all over again.
It’s December now so the bulk of our assignments are mostly done. We only have 1 assignment due before Christmas and so that’s nice. When we get back we start preparing for our 10 day outreach, which I’m really excited about. We find out where we’re going once we get back. I’m so glad for a bit of a break. It’s been so stressful because it’s the first year of the accreditation, so no one really knows what we’re doing. But that’s okay. It’s working out, slowly. It’ll be nice to get college credit though, that’s for sure.
We have our Walk Thru the New Testament test tomorrow…and I can honestly say I do NOT know this one as good as the Old Testament. But it’s okay, I have all afternoon and tomorrow to work on it. Boy do I have lots to do though. I’ve even started to make lists. Wow, never thought I’d ever do that. I’m slowly becoming an organized person…oh no! ;)
Well, I don’t really know what else to write about so that’s it for now. I’ll try to update a little bit later in the week when there’s more exciting news. This was basically just me throwing-up all that’s going on this week onto my little blog. Enjoy!
Merry 19 days ‘till Christmas!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Hello all my Bloggy-Blog followers!
Hello my bloggy-blog followers!
Well, another week has started here at Capernwray. And not only has a new week started, a new season has started. Yep. There’s snow here at Capernwray. Yeah yeah, laugh all you want. I shouldn’t of been so dumb as to think I could escape from the snow in England. I guess I just didn’t want to believe that it actually can snow here. It’s not too bad….as long as it stays at this 6 inch height. But I won’t get my hopes up, they say it’s supposed to double the amount tonight. :P Last night was pretty fun though, because once dinner was over we all went out and played in the snow for a few hours before evening church. It was pretty fun to watch some of the kids who have never seen snow before, they were so excited. It was fun sliding down the hill on trash bags and throwing snow into people’s faces. Of course, it’s all fun and games until the staff boys come out and hit you as you walk out of church. 4 standing in front of the door, one standing on the roof. Yep, I got attacked by snow. Oh goodie.
This last week was good. We learned a lot about the Holy Spirit and I loved learning all these different views of who the Holy Spirit is. I learned, what I believe is to be true, is that we do not need to be baptized by the Spirit, but we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and it’s not just a one time thing, it’s a continual filling over and over, and you’ll notice not by how you may be able to speak in tongues or whatever, but the transforming of ourselves, and how much more we become like Christ. I’ve been working on that, letting the Holy Spirit transform me into a more and more Christ-like woman of God.
The weekend was really fun. On Friday me and some friends went to Lancaster to watch Harry Potter 7 part 1! It was SO GOOD! I loved it and loved being in a movie theater again. There’s a lot of movies I’m excited to see once I get back home. The other great thing about English movie theaters? They serve Ice Cream. Mmmmmm mmm good. After that we came back to have an awesome worship night, fellowshipping with each other and praising our awesome and Holy God. It was an incredible night. After that great act of worship….we watched….Lord of the Rings 2. Yeah, how’s that for spiritual? ;)
The next day was spent in a Hotel bar in Carnforth drinking cappuccinos and planning Christmas. We barely got anywhere, but we do have a flight from London to Milan….that lands at 12 in the morning. Oh gosh. This will be an adventure. I’m excited. Pray we don’t get mugged….or killed! ;)
This next week’s lectures are our favorite Principal Rob Whittaker speaking on the Upper Room Discourse, a continuing study on Jesus and his disciples in the upper room at Passover, and the cutest elderly couple Stuart and Jill Briscoe from Milwaukee, speaking on Romans and characters of the Old Testament. It’s going to be good.
Well, here’s to a new week. Only 3 weeks to go until Christmas break! Bring it on!!
Love you all!
Well, another week has started here at Capernwray. And not only has a new week started, a new season has started. Yep. There’s snow here at Capernwray. Yeah yeah, laugh all you want. I shouldn’t of been so dumb as to think I could escape from the snow in England. I guess I just didn’t want to believe that it actually can snow here. It’s not too bad….as long as it stays at this 6 inch height. But I won’t get my hopes up, they say it’s supposed to double the amount tonight. :P Last night was pretty fun though, because once dinner was over we all went out and played in the snow for a few hours before evening church. It was pretty fun to watch some of the kids who have never seen snow before, they were so excited. It was fun sliding down the hill on trash bags and throwing snow into people’s faces. Of course, it’s all fun and games until the staff boys come out and hit you as you walk out of church. 4 standing in front of the door, one standing on the roof. Yep, I got attacked by snow. Oh goodie.
This last week was good. We learned a lot about the Holy Spirit and I loved learning all these different views of who the Holy Spirit is. I learned, what I believe is to be true, is that we do not need to be baptized by the Spirit, but we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and it’s not just a one time thing, it’s a continual filling over and over, and you’ll notice not by how you may be able to speak in tongues or whatever, but the transforming of ourselves, and how much more we become like Christ. I’ve been working on that, letting the Holy Spirit transform me into a more and more Christ-like woman of God.
The weekend was really fun. On Friday me and some friends went to Lancaster to watch Harry Potter 7 part 1! It was SO GOOD! I loved it and loved being in a movie theater again. There’s a lot of movies I’m excited to see once I get back home. The other great thing about English movie theaters? They serve Ice Cream. Mmmmmm mmm good. After that we came back to have an awesome worship night, fellowshipping with each other and praising our awesome and Holy God. It was an incredible night. After that great act of worship….we watched….Lord of the Rings 2. Yeah, how’s that for spiritual? ;)
The next day was spent in a Hotel bar in Carnforth drinking cappuccinos and planning Christmas. We barely got anywhere, but we do have a flight from London to Milan….that lands at 12 in the morning. Oh gosh. This will be an adventure. I’m excited. Pray we don’t get mugged….or killed! ;)
This next week’s lectures are our favorite Principal Rob Whittaker speaking on the Upper Room Discourse, a continuing study on Jesus and his disciples in the upper room at Passover, and the cutest elderly couple Stuart and Jill Briscoe from Milwaukee, speaking on Romans and characters of the Old Testament. It’s going to be good.
Well, here’s to a new week. Only 3 weeks to go until Christmas break! Bring it on!!
Love you all!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Happy Day of lots of Turkey-eating!!
It feels so weird not being home right now. I woke up this morning and was waiting for Grandma Judy to make us breakfast, while we waited for the Thanksgiving day parade to turn on. But then I remembered that no, there is no Thanksgiving parade, and sadly, none of Grandma’s breakfast. Yay for cereal!
I also had classes today. I know! What is Thanksgiving when you have to go to school? Haha. It was pretty relaxing though, so it wasn’t too bad. I also had to lead a 45 minute discussion on a book in the New Testament written by Paul which I found out about on Tuesday…so that was fun. I led it on 2 Timothy, and I think it went pretty well. I love when Paul says: “But God did not give you a spirit of Timidity, but a Spirit of Power, of Love, and Self-discipline.”
After a light lunch to prepare us for the feast we’re having tonight, I went back and took…gasp! A nap! Who knew? ;) Now Corinne and I are going to look up stuff for our adventure in Lancaster tomorrow to see Harry Potter 7, and then Christmas planning on Saturday. Later, our friend Alyssa will come over and we’ll watch Pocahontas, to prepare us for…da da daaaa! The epic Capernwray battle of Indian vs. Pilgrim Capture the Flag!!! Apparently, that’s how we celebrate Thanksgiving over here in England. We’re all dressing up as Indians and Pilgrims and it’s going to be so fun! It’s not the same, but at least we get to do something about it. The Canadians aren’t too happy about it though, considering we did nothing to celebrate their Thanksgiving…did you even know that Canadians have a Thanksgiving? I didn’t :P Oh well. We’re all really excited to dress-up anyways. Oh college students.
Well I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving! Enjoy being with your family and friends, and eat LOTS of good food, because I will be living vicariously through you since I don’t get to eat all the fantastic-ness that Americans make on this wonderful day. I love and miss and am SO thankful for all of you!!!
Love, Katie
It feels so weird not being home right now. I woke up this morning and was waiting for Grandma Judy to make us breakfast, while we waited for the Thanksgiving day parade to turn on. But then I remembered that no, there is no Thanksgiving parade, and sadly, none of Grandma’s breakfast. Yay for cereal!
I also had classes today. I know! What is Thanksgiving when you have to go to school? Haha. It was pretty relaxing though, so it wasn’t too bad. I also had to lead a 45 minute discussion on a book in the New Testament written by Paul which I found out about on Tuesday…so that was fun. I led it on 2 Timothy, and I think it went pretty well. I love when Paul says: “But God did not give you a spirit of Timidity, but a Spirit of Power, of Love, and Self-discipline.”
After a light lunch to prepare us for the feast we’re having tonight, I went back and took…gasp! A nap! Who knew? ;) Now Corinne and I are going to look up stuff for our adventure in Lancaster tomorrow to see Harry Potter 7, and then Christmas planning on Saturday. Later, our friend Alyssa will come over and we’ll watch Pocahontas, to prepare us for…da da daaaa! The epic Capernwray battle of Indian vs. Pilgrim Capture the Flag!!! Apparently, that’s how we celebrate Thanksgiving over here in England. We’re all dressing up as Indians and Pilgrims and it’s going to be so fun! It’s not the same, but at least we get to do something about it. The Canadians aren’t too happy about it though, considering we did nothing to celebrate their Thanksgiving…did you even know that Canadians have a Thanksgiving? I didn’t :P Oh well. We’re all really excited to dress-up anyways. Oh college students.
Well I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving! Enjoy being with your family and friends, and eat LOTS of good food, because I will be living vicariously through you since I don’t get to eat all the fantastic-ness that Americans make on this wonderful day. I love and miss and am SO thankful for all of you!!!
Love, Katie
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Today I had 3 naps.....
Well hello there friends and family!
It’s been a while since I’ve written. I’m getting pretty bad at this whole blog thing. Sorry. :P
The weeks seem to blur together, going so fast. I can’t believe that I’ve almost been here for 2 months already! That’s absolutely insane. I wish time would slow down. Soon I won’t be living in England anymore, and that is just so sad. Haha.
Let’s see. I finished my papers, got started on what’s due next week, and am SO tired! We had a fun family night at Trevor and Viv’s house, baking apple crumble and banana bread, while decorating for Christmas and enjoying hanging out with each other. Viv doesn’t like to cook so she threw some sausages and chips in the oven and called it a night. I miss cooking. Watch out Mom, because I’ve got about 6 months of baking/cooking to catch up on when I get home!
Saturday I had the awesome opportunity to go to a theater production of Beauty and the Beast in Leeds, England and it was fantastic! I love theater so much and wish I had more opportunities to be in plays when I was growing up. The theater was old and antique and so much fun. Did you know that in England you don’t buy candy at theaters, you buy ice cream? Well, it’s fantastic no matter what. The play was fantastic, and I absolutely LOVE Leeds! Such a cool old city, and my friend Corinne and I had so much fun walking around the German Christmas Market in the square and shopping at our new favorite store, Primark! 3 sweaters and a sweatshirt for 15 pounds? Yes please. We also went to the fabulous Pizza Express, where they make excellently GIANT pizzas, which of course, you eat all of. We got back super late and were really excited to go to sleep, until we realized our roomies were all watching P.S I Love You, and who can pass that up when you live so close to Ireland? ;)
We have a new guest lecturer this week, whom the staff say is always every classes favorite, Derek Burnside. He’s teaching on the Holy Spirit and I am SO excited to learn from him. It’s going to be a good week, and I’m excited for it.
But the sad thing is, it’s almost Thanksgiving, and we don’t celebrate that here. My tummy is already missing all that turkey-stuffing-mashed potatoes- pumpkin-pie-goodness you all get to enjoy. They put on a little “Everyone’s Thankful” celebration but it won’t be the same. So I’ll be living vicariously through you guys. I hope you don’t mind. ;)
Well, I’ll try to be better at blogging, I miss you guys! Have a fantastic week!!!
It’s been a while since I’ve written. I’m getting pretty bad at this whole blog thing. Sorry. :P
The weeks seem to blur together, going so fast. I can’t believe that I’ve almost been here for 2 months already! That’s absolutely insane. I wish time would slow down. Soon I won’t be living in England anymore, and that is just so sad. Haha.
Let’s see. I finished my papers, got started on what’s due next week, and am SO tired! We had a fun family night at Trevor and Viv’s house, baking apple crumble and banana bread, while decorating for Christmas and enjoying hanging out with each other. Viv doesn’t like to cook so she threw some sausages and chips in the oven and called it a night. I miss cooking. Watch out Mom, because I’ve got about 6 months of baking/cooking to catch up on when I get home!
Saturday I had the awesome opportunity to go to a theater production of Beauty and the Beast in Leeds, England and it was fantastic! I love theater so much and wish I had more opportunities to be in plays when I was growing up. The theater was old and antique and so much fun. Did you know that in England you don’t buy candy at theaters, you buy ice cream? Well, it’s fantastic no matter what. The play was fantastic, and I absolutely LOVE Leeds! Such a cool old city, and my friend Corinne and I had so much fun walking around the German Christmas Market in the square and shopping at our new favorite store, Primark! 3 sweaters and a sweatshirt for 15 pounds? Yes please. We also went to the fabulous Pizza Express, where they make excellently GIANT pizzas, which of course, you eat all of. We got back super late and were really excited to go to sleep, until we realized our roomies were all watching P.S I Love You, and who can pass that up when you live so close to Ireland? ;)
We have a new guest lecturer this week, whom the staff say is always every classes favorite, Derek Burnside. He’s teaching on the Holy Spirit and I am SO excited to learn from him. It’s going to be a good week, and I’m excited for it.
But the sad thing is, it’s almost Thanksgiving, and we don’t celebrate that here. My tummy is already missing all that turkey-stuffing-mashed potatoes- pumpkin-pie-goodness you all get to enjoy. They put on a little “Everyone’s Thankful” celebration but it won’t be the same. So I’ll be living vicariously through you guys. I hope you don’t mind. ;)
Well, I’ll try to be better at blogging, I miss you guys! Have a fantastic week!!!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Yeah I know...it's been awhile
Hello All! This week was a fast one, but also a long one. After my last blog, where I told you my Testimony, we finished the week with a lecture on…da da da….Singleness and Sexuality! Taught by the one and only, Sue Gilmore. For those of you who have gone to Capernwray, you’ll know Sue, because she’s been at Capernwray forever. Cutest totally British/Greek lady you’ll ever meet, hilarious to learn about what being single looks like and how she looks at all the pictures on the applications and says, “oh they’re so cute!…checking age…..darn, too young.” We also had a married couple who are connected with Capernwray come and talk about relationships and what worked for them and what didn’t. We learned a lot and I feel like I’ve learned so much more of what a Godly-relationship looks like and how it should play out. But don’t worry Mom and Dad, I haven’t got one of those relationships….yet. :P
After that we had a lazy Friday night, not really doing anything, and then a relaxing Saturday just resting and being quiet. The next week went fast, but it was exciting because our guest lecturer, was one we already had, Paul Keeys. Paul had taught us back in October how to “Walk through the Old Testament,” where we learn basically the timeline of the Old Testament through hand motions. It was so fun and crazy but a lot of signs to learn. Now he came back to teach us the New Testament, and now we have to memorize those as well. Oh boy. Test is on Wednesday, you can be praying for that. Those hand motions can get a little crazy….so don’t expect me to fully remember them when I get home ok? ;)
The week went on and then came Friday. Friday was absolutely fantastic, because a- we watched Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, on the big screen in the Conference Hall, and then…da da da daaaaa! The Caelic! Or “Kaley“…if you can’t pronounce it. This is basically Scottish Dancing. 2 hours of running around, dancing crazy Scottish dances, not knowing what’s going on, and laughing at all the people wearing Kilts. It was fantastic. One of my favorite Social nights so far. It was hilarious.
Saturday was when I went on my first weekend trip to……Liverpool! Home of the Beatles! Coolest place ever. The buildings are all made to look like ships, the musicians sing all over the streets, Britain’s Got Talent was holding auditions, and Beatle mania was everywhere. We walked down Matthew street, where we saw the club where the Beatles were discovered. We didn’t go in of course, because we’re good Christian Bible-students and of course you never go into a club at 1 o’clock in the afternoon! We took pictures with the statue of John Lennon, looked at Beatles-shops, bought fun souvenirs, and listened to Beatles music the entire way there. I absolutely LOVE Liverpool and want to go back sometime. One afternoon is nowhere near enough time to see everything. After taking fun jumping pictures by the docks, drinking a fantastically delicious Crème Brule latte from Costa Coffee (The Starbucks of England), and laughing a lot, we headed back home, to an intense Volleyball tournament, where one of the students would spike the ball so hard I cringed every-time it hit the floor. (He also had a volleyball scholarship, so that explains it all.)
This week we have 2 guest lecturers, 2 papers due, and lots of things going on. We’re learning about the Sermon on the Mount and Colossians. We have a paper due on either Ecclesiastes or 1st Samuel. We have a discussion on Sermon on the Mount paper due. We have family day on Friday night where we’re heading to Trevor and Viv’s house to Christmas decorate, bake, and play games. They say November is the craziest month, and since we’re all getting tired and burned out, prayers would be appreciated. Pray that the excitement that we had on September 25th would come back and fill us up, to keep us going until Christmas break. It’s week 8, and in Summer terms, it’s staff-depletion week. So prayer would be great. So that’s an update on what’s been going on. I’ll try and be a better blogger…once all my assignments are done of course ;)
Love you all!
After that we had a lazy Friday night, not really doing anything, and then a relaxing Saturday just resting and being quiet. The next week went fast, but it was exciting because our guest lecturer, was one we already had, Paul Keeys. Paul had taught us back in October how to “Walk through the Old Testament,” where we learn basically the timeline of the Old Testament through hand motions. It was so fun and crazy but a lot of signs to learn. Now he came back to teach us the New Testament, and now we have to memorize those as well. Oh boy. Test is on Wednesday, you can be praying for that. Those hand motions can get a little crazy….so don’t expect me to fully remember them when I get home ok? ;)
The week went on and then came Friday. Friday was absolutely fantastic, because a- we watched Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, on the big screen in the Conference Hall, and then…da da da daaaaa! The Caelic! Or “Kaley“…if you can’t pronounce it. This is basically Scottish Dancing. 2 hours of running around, dancing crazy Scottish dances, not knowing what’s going on, and laughing at all the people wearing Kilts. It was fantastic. One of my favorite Social nights so far. It was hilarious.
Saturday was when I went on my first weekend trip to……Liverpool! Home of the Beatles! Coolest place ever. The buildings are all made to look like ships, the musicians sing all over the streets, Britain’s Got Talent was holding auditions, and Beatle mania was everywhere. We walked down Matthew street, where we saw the club where the Beatles were discovered. We didn’t go in of course, because we’re good Christian Bible-students and of course you never go into a club at 1 o’clock in the afternoon! We took pictures with the statue of John Lennon, looked at Beatles-shops, bought fun souvenirs, and listened to Beatles music the entire way there. I absolutely LOVE Liverpool and want to go back sometime. One afternoon is nowhere near enough time to see everything. After taking fun jumping pictures by the docks, drinking a fantastically delicious Crème Brule latte from Costa Coffee (The Starbucks of England), and laughing a lot, we headed back home, to an intense Volleyball tournament, where one of the students would spike the ball so hard I cringed every-time it hit the floor. (He also had a volleyball scholarship, so that explains it all.)
This week we have 2 guest lecturers, 2 papers due, and lots of things going on. We’re learning about the Sermon on the Mount and Colossians. We have a paper due on either Ecclesiastes or 1st Samuel. We have a discussion on Sermon on the Mount paper due. We have family day on Friday night where we’re heading to Trevor and Viv’s house to Christmas decorate, bake, and play games. They say November is the craziest month, and since we’re all getting tired and burned out, prayers would be appreciated. Pray that the excitement that we had on September 25th would come back and fill us up, to keep us going until Christmas break. It’s week 8, and in Summer terms, it’s staff-depletion week. So prayer would be great. So that’s an update on what’s been going on. I’ll try and be a better blogger…once all my assignments are done of course ;)
Love you all!
Friday, November 5, 2010
A Testimony of a Hume-Kid, the "Older Son," from Luke 15:25
Hey there!
Thursday was an awesome day. Every class was canceled. There was no internet. All we did was pray. All day. Pray and reflect. Worship. Hang out with roommates, share our testimonies. It was such a relaxing, revitalizing, rejuvinating, wonderful day just spent hanging out with Jesus, and I absolutely loved it. I was asked to share my testimony in front of the entire school last night by my family dad after I gave it during family groups the previous morning. I really didn't want to but Trevor really makes it so you can't say no. So I did. Geez was I nervous! I was shaking and kept feeling like I was about to start crying and all that, but afterwords everyone said I looked the least nervous! And that I was a great public speaker! Ummm...What!? Haha. God apparently worked through me because I know that I myself, was a mess, but everyone else obviously didn't see that. I realized though that many of you probably don't know my testimony, my mom doesn't even know it, so I figured I'd share it via blogy-blog for you. Granted, it's much more exciting to hear someone talking than just reading but you can just leave it up to your imagination instead. So- here we go:
My story is not exciting. It's not some crazy story about how I was totally broken on the ground and God miraculously showed up and pulled me out of impending doom. I've never drank, never smoked, never done drugs, never partied, in fact, I've never even cussed out loud before (In my head, plenty of times (hahah), but the words have never come out of my mouth). But that doesn't mean I haven't messed up. However, if you are looking for a story about the Prodigal son, this isn't it. My story is more of the other son, the one who stayed home and did good.
I was raised in a Christian family where I was taught about the love of Jesus from a young age and always went to church. One night when I was 5, after Sunday School, I asked my mom to pray with me and ask Jesus to come into my heart, since during Sunday School the teacher had asked who wanted to go to heaven where there was singing and dancing and flying and lots of good food, or go to Hell where there's lots of fire (insert laughter here), so of course I chose heaven. From that point on I became the good christian girl. It was never really a "real" relationship though, just going through the motions. When I was 7, my dad went to a fisherman's conference at a place in the mountains called Hume Lake Christian Camps. This place would not only change his life, but mine as well. By the time I had been 8 for a month, I was moved up to this crazy little mountain town, where the people there absolutely loved Jesus. I remember knowing this place was different, because the people who were professing their love for Christ actually lived it everyday, not just Sunday's like I was used to. However, I kept going through the motions, and expecting the faith of my camp and others to get me through life and keep my christian faith strong, even though I wasn't working at it. So I was still the good christian kid, never doing anything wrong, but the Devil used one thing to really distract me from a true relationship with Jesus, and that is through Body-Image.
I remember being at a friends house and as we were hanging out, they told me that they were hanging out with a bunch of people the other day talking about other people. So, I asked them what they said about me. They kind of pushed it away, saying, "ahh, nothin' much...." but I persisted, and they finally told me what they had said. "Well, they called you fat." Silence. "What?" I asked in a shakey voice. "Who said that?" I listened as they named off every single one of my friends and added their names to the list, and then professed they didn't really mean it. I remember walking out of that room and being so hurt.
Ever since that day the image I had of myself was distorted. I would wear big jackets so I could cover my body. I wouldn't smile with my teeth because I hated the gap I had in the middle. I hated looking in the mirror, and would frequently just look at myself and cry, cursing out to God asking why he had made me like this. Everything I saw when I looked in a mirror was exactly opposite of what the world was telling me was beautiful, and because I couldn't understand why God hadn't made me look like THAT, my relationship with God faltered. I couldn't understand why I looked like the way I did, couldn't understand why God hadn't made me skinnier, or with a clean face, or taller. I hated who I was. But one day, as I was reading my bible like a good christian girl does, I read a verse that I had read a thousand times, but this time, God really spoke to me through it and just burned me. "I praise you for I am FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made, Your works are WONDERFUL, I know that FULL WELL." And I remember sitting there crying and realizing the stupidity of all the years of hating my body was. I realized that everytime I complained about my body I was slapping God in the face, saying that he didn't know what he was doing, that I could of done SO much better, that he had NO right to make me this way. But like Romans 9:20 says, "But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" Only once I accepted that God was God, and I was not, that was when I really began to see the beauty and creativeness of my Savior. I could finally see me through God's eyes, and not through the world's. I had a complete sense of wholeness and fufillment in Christ, and that I was his beloved daughter, who was enthralled by my beauty. I realized that there was no one in the world just like me, and nor would there ever be. I was a precious daughter of the Most High God, and I should stop hiding myself from the world. Once I accepted who I was and who I was to Jesus, that was when my relationship with him could really begin to grow.
It's still a constant struggle. The world is continually telling me that what I am is not it. But whenever I have those feelings, I remember those verses, and I remember my heritage, and that I am daughter to the King of Kings, and he is enthralled by my beauty, and no one can EVER take that away from me. So that's my story, I hope you can find pieces of yourself in it, and that if you've never felt like you are beautiful, I promise you, that to the Glorious King of Kings and Wonderful Maker, You are MORE PRECIOUS than diamonds, more wonderful than rubies, and he is absolutely enthralled by your exquisite, creative, different, unique beauty.
So that's it. The testimony of a Hume kid. The story of a girl who may not have sinned in big struggles, but sinned in being distracted by things of this world.
Thursday was an awesome day. Every class was canceled. There was no internet. All we did was pray. All day. Pray and reflect. Worship. Hang out with roommates, share our testimonies. It was such a relaxing, revitalizing, rejuvinating, wonderful day just spent hanging out with Jesus, and I absolutely loved it. I was asked to share my testimony in front of the entire school last night by my family dad after I gave it during family groups the previous morning. I really didn't want to but Trevor really makes it so you can't say no. So I did. Geez was I nervous! I was shaking and kept feeling like I was about to start crying and all that, but afterwords everyone said I looked the least nervous! And that I was a great public speaker! Ummm...What!? Haha. God apparently worked through me because I know that I myself, was a mess, but everyone else obviously didn't see that. I realized though that many of you probably don't know my testimony, my mom doesn't even know it, so I figured I'd share it via blogy-blog for you. Granted, it's much more exciting to hear someone talking than just reading but you can just leave it up to your imagination instead. So- here we go:
My story is not exciting. It's not some crazy story about how I was totally broken on the ground and God miraculously showed up and pulled me out of impending doom. I've never drank, never smoked, never done drugs, never partied, in fact, I've never even cussed out loud before (In my head, plenty of times (hahah), but the words have never come out of my mouth). But that doesn't mean I haven't messed up. However, if you are looking for a story about the Prodigal son, this isn't it. My story is more of the other son, the one who stayed home and did good.
I was raised in a Christian family where I was taught about the love of Jesus from a young age and always went to church. One night when I was 5, after Sunday School, I asked my mom to pray with me and ask Jesus to come into my heart, since during Sunday School the teacher had asked who wanted to go to heaven where there was singing and dancing and flying and lots of good food, or go to Hell where there's lots of fire (insert laughter here), so of course I chose heaven. From that point on I became the good christian girl. It was never really a "real" relationship though, just going through the motions. When I was 7, my dad went to a fisherman's conference at a place in the mountains called Hume Lake Christian Camps. This place would not only change his life, but mine as well. By the time I had been 8 for a month, I was moved up to this crazy little mountain town, where the people there absolutely loved Jesus. I remember knowing this place was different, because the people who were professing their love for Christ actually lived it everyday, not just Sunday's like I was used to. However, I kept going through the motions, and expecting the faith of my camp and others to get me through life and keep my christian faith strong, even though I wasn't working at it. So I was still the good christian kid, never doing anything wrong, but the Devil used one thing to really distract me from a true relationship with Jesus, and that is through Body-Image.
I remember being at a friends house and as we were hanging out, they told me that they were hanging out with a bunch of people the other day talking about other people. So, I asked them what they said about me. They kind of pushed it away, saying, "ahh, nothin' much...." but I persisted, and they finally told me what they had said. "Well, they called you fat." Silence. "What?" I asked in a shakey voice. "Who said that?" I listened as they named off every single one of my friends and added their names to the list, and then professed they didn't really mean it. I remember walking out of that room and being so hurt.
Ever since that day the image I had of myself was distorted. I would wear big jackets so I could cover my body. I wouldn't smile with my teeth because I hated the gap I had in the middle. I hated looking in the mirror, and would frequently just look at myself and cry, cursing out to God asking why he had made me like this. Everything I saw when I looked in a mirror was exactly opposite of what the world was telling me was beautiful, and because I couldn't understand why God hadn't made me look like THAT, my relationship with God faltered. I couldn't understand why I looked like the way I did, couldn't understand why God hadn't made me skinnier, or with a clean face, or taller. I hated who I was. But one day, as I was reading my bible like a good christian girl does, I read a verse that I had read a thousand times, but this time, God really spoke to me through it and just burned me. "I praise you for I am FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made, Your works are WONDERFUL, I know that FULL WELL." And I remember sitting there crying and realizing the stupidity of all the years of hating my body was. I realized that everytime I complained about my body I was slapping God in the face, saying that he didn't know what he was doing, that I could of done SO much better, that he had NO right to make me this way. But like Romans 9:20 says, "But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" Only once I accepted that God was God, and I was not, that was when I really began to see the beauty and creativeness of my Savior. I could finally see me through God's eyes, and not through the world's. I had a complete sense of wholeness and fufillment in Christ, and that I was his beloved daughter, who was enthralled by my beauty. I realized that there was no one in the world just like me, and nor would there ever be. I was a precious daughter of the Most High God, and I should stop hiding myself from the world. Once I accepted who I was and who I was to Jesus, that was when my relationship with him could really begin to grow.
It's still a constant struggle. The world is continually telling me that what I am is not it. But whenever I have those feelings, I remember those verses, and I remember my heritage, and that I am daughter to the King of Kings, and he is enthralled by my beauty, and no one can EVER take that away from me. So that's my story, I hope you can find pieces of yourself in it, and that if you've never felt like you are beautiful, I promise you, that to the Glorious King of Kings and Wonderful Maker, You are MORE PRECIOUS than diamonds, more wonderful than rubies, and he is absolutely enthralled by your exquisite, creative, different, unique beauty.
So that's it. The testimony of a Hume kid. The story of a girl who may not have sinned in big struggles, but sinned in being distracted by things of this world.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
No, I did NOT try Haggis.
Scotland was absolutely amazing! From the incredibly old buildings, to the men on the street playing bagpipes, to the Mexican food I ate on Sunday. I loved walking around the city, hanging out with friends in the old, old cemetery, and laughing at the crazy stories we all told about our Hostels. Let’s just say our hostel was very tame compared to others. Although it was still a bit on the crazy side. We toured the Castle, took lots of pictures, listened to live music festivals, and walked so far it didn’t matter what we ate that day because we worked it all off by that night. I learned so much about my family history, saw the MacDonald name everywhere I went, and even found in a museum a exhibit saying: “Who is Katie MacDonald?” It was fantastic. I loved all the old history and antiqueness of the city, but what I loved even more was the sense of community I felt when spending time with my Capernwray friends. It would just be so exciting when you would pass by some of them on the street. It was like seeing your family, and I absolutely loved that.
However, I was excited when it was time to go home. I didn’t have to pay for food anymore, I wouldn’t have drunk roommates, I wouldn’t have to walk so far everyday, and here I know the sheets are actually cleaned. It was wonderful.
So that’s Scotland in a nutshell for you. We’ve been trying to stay awake through lectures and since our new lecturer is about the 2nd coming of Christ it’s pretty easy to stay attentive.
If there’s one thing you could be praying for it’s that I wasn’t chosen to go on the Africa team. The director of Outreach came up to me this morning and said, “ I hope you’re not disappointed, but we’ve decided not to have you go to Africa. I just have a strong feeling that God wants you here in the UK.” of course my first thought was, “Well, duh, I’m disappointed! And who are you to tell me that Africa isn’t where God wants me?” But of course, I held it in. I am incredibly bummed to not be able to go though. I wanted to hold little African babies so bad, play guitar for little African children, do everything there is to do in Africa. You could just be praying that I will be ok with this decision, and that God will just show me that he knows what he’s doing, even though I don’t understand why he would place this desire in my heart only to snatch it away.
This week will pretty much be a chill week. I’m excited to just relax and enjoy being back home. Tomorrow we are “abstaining from technology” to prepare for our day of prayer on Thursday, so this’ll be the last post for a bit. I’m really excited because we spend all day Thursday just praying and hanging out and relaxing in God’s word. It’ll be really refreshing and I’m looking forward to it. I love you and miss you! Send me letters ;)
However, I was excited when it was time to go home. I didn’t have to pay for food anymore, I wouldn’t have drunk roommates, I wouldn’t have to walk so far everyday, and here I know the sheets are actually cleaned. It was wonderful.
So that’s Scotland in a nutshell for you. We’ve been trying to stay awake through lectures and since our new lecturer is about the 2nd coming of Christ it’s pretty easy to stay attentive.
If there’s one thing you could be praying for it’s that I wasn’t chosen to go on the Africa team. The director of Outreach came up to me this morning and said, “ I hope you’re not disappointed, but we’ve decided not to have you go to Africa. I just have a strong feeling that God wants you here in the UK.” of course my first thought was, “Well, duh, I’m disappointed! And who are you to tell me that Africa isn’t where God wants me?” But of course, I held it in. I am incredibly bummed to not be able to go though. I wanted to hold little African babies so bad, play guitar for little African children, do everything there is to do in Africa. You could just be praying that I will be ok with this decision, and that God will just show me that he knows what he’s doing, even though I don’t understand why he would place this desire in my heart only to snatch it away.
This week will pretty much be a chill week. I’m excited to just relax and enjoy being back home. Tomorrow we are “abstaining from technology” to prepare for our day of prayer on Thursday, so this’ll be the last post for a bit. I’m really excited because we spend all day Thursday just praying and hanging out and relaxing in God’s word. It’ll be really refreshing and I’m looking forward to it. I love you and miss you! Send me letters ;)
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Hello Scotland!
Hey folks! I'm just sitting in a sports Bar...drinking chocolate milk of course ;)
We're all watching a game of football, and by that I mean soccer. It's a pretty chill evening. Scotland is absolutely wonderful! I've found my family name everywhere around here, so that's pretty exciting. On Friday we shopped and explored and walked everywhere, and boy did my feet hurt! The wind is absolutely crazy up here- I honestly thought I might fall over! Haha. Today we toured the Edinburgh castle and the view was absolutely incredible! Such a cool place. So now some of the girls and I are going to go to a Starbucks and just hang out for the night. So that's just a little update. Can't wait to show you pictures!! Love y'all! :)
We're all watching a game of football, and by that I mean soccer. It's a pretty chill evening. Scotland is absolutely wonderful! I've found my family name everywhere around here, so that's pretty exciting. On Friday we shopped and explored and walked everywhere, and boy did my feet hurt! The wind is absolutely crazy up here- I honestly thought I might fall over! Haha. Today we toured the Edinburgh castle and the view was absolutely incredible! Such a cool place. So now some of the girls and I are going to go to a Starbucks and just hang out for the night. So that's just a little update. Can't wait to show you pictures!! Love y'all! :)
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Edinburgh!
Well folks! Friday morning we're heading to Edinburgh, Scotland for travel weekend! We're about to spend 4 days in the beautifully antique city where it's freezing cold, they have castles, they wear kilts, and play the bagpipes. I cannot wait! What I'm really excited about is experiencing it for my Grandpa though. I know you never made it out here Papa but I'm so excited to experience it for you! :)
We're going to tour the castle, go on a ghost-walk, sit in the Elephant Room (where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books), go window shopping, sleep in a room of 18 people, go on a 3 hour tour..(a 3 hour tourrrrrrr!) and wherever else our feet lead us. I can't wait.
Keep us in our prayers! Especially that we'll stay safe and that Jesus's light would shine brightly through us while we leave Capernwray.
I'll update you later!
Cheerio!
We're going to tour the castle, go on a ghost-walk, sit in the Elephant Room (where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books), go window shopping, sleep in a room of 18 people, go on a 3 hour tour..(a 3 hour tourrrrrrr!) and wherever else our feet lead us. I can't wait.
Keep us in our prayers! Especially that we'll stay safe and that Jesus's light would shine brightly through us while we leave Capernwray.
I'll update you later!
Cheerio!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
One month.
“Only one person can live the Christian life: Jesus Christ, in the end, it will not matter how many things you did for God, how many people you converted, or how many good deeds you did in his name, but how much you allowed Him to live in you and work through you.”
Our speaker in church said this today and consequently, it’s exactly what I needed for the last part of my essay. PERFECT! This really struck me though, besides the fact that it was perfect for my paper, because I feel like since I’ve been here at Capernwray, I’ve been putting up this “perfect little Christian’ façade. When I realized that I truly cannot live the Christian life without Christ truly living in me and working through me, everything I do is useless. Only when I live my life through Christ and through him alone can I ever accomplish the work he has set out for me. What a great thing to learn. I am always learning. These next 6 months are totally going to rock my world.
Whoops. 5 months. 1 month ago I said good-bye to my mommy and daddy, standing in the parking lot crying my eyes out as they prayed for me. One month ago I had my bag go thorugh security 4 times because they kept seeing something sharp, which turned out to by my Crayons for my Princess Coloring book. One month ago I sat in the middle between 2 old ladies who didn’t like to talk, while trying not to cry because I already missed my mama and daddy. One month ago I left everything I ever knew behind for a grand new adventure that I couldn’t wait to start.
It’s incredible how much one month can do to your life.
I have learned so many things. I have learned how to live with 3 other people. I have learned how to get up just at the right time before breakfast. I have learned to never drink the instant coffee, and that Sheep are not cute animals. They’re stupid, wandering things who poop EVERYWHERE. I’ve learned that it’s not ideal to fall asleep during lectures when you’re in the 2nd row. I’ve learned that walking the Loop is not only beautiful, but great exercise. I’ve learned that green rolling hills in pictures are nothing compared to seeing the real things. I’ve learned that my life must be completely and overwhelmingly surrendered and filled by the most High God who is the same yesterday, today and forever. I’ve learned that God is enough. Plain and simple.
It’s crazy how much I’ve learned just in these few weeks. 30 days living surrounded by the presence of God can really change your life if you only let him. 30 days can test you, try you, break you, strengthen you, move you, change you. I can’t wait for the next 5 months.
Our speaker in church said this today and consequently, it’s exactly what I needed for the last part of my essay. PERFECT! This really struck me though, besides the fact that it was perfect for my paper, because I feel like since I’ve been here at Capernwray, I’ve been putting up this “perfect little Christian’ façade. When I realized that I truly cannot live the Christian life without Christ truly living in me and working through me, everything I do is useless. Only when I live my life through Christ and through him alone can I ever accomplish the work he has set out for me. What a great thing to learn. I am always learning. These next 6 months are totally going to rock my world.
Whoops. 5 months. 1 month ago I said good-bye to my mommy and daddy, standing in the parking lot crying my eyes out as they prayed for me. One month ago I had my bag go thorugh security 4 times because they kept seeing something sharp, which turned out to by my Crayons for my Princess Coloring book. One month ago I sat in the middle between 2 old ladies who didn’t like to talk, while trying not to cry because I already missed my mama and daddy. One month ago I left everything I ever knew behind for a grand new adventure that I couldn’t wait to start.
It’s incredible how much one month can do to your life.
I have learned so many things. I have learned how to live with 3 other people. I have learned how to get up just at the right time before breakfast. I have learned to never drink the instant coffee, and that Sheep are not cute animals. They’re stupid, wandering things who poop EVERYWHERE. I’ve learned that it’s not ideal to fall asleep during lectures when you’re in the 2nd row. I’ve learned that walking the Loop is not only beautiful, but great exercise. I’ve learned that green rolling hills in pictures are nothing compared to seeing the real things. I’ve learned that my life must be completely and overwhelmingly surrendered and filled by the most High God who is the same yesterday, today and forever. I’ve learned that God is enough. Plain and simple.
It’s crazy how much I’ve learned just in these few weeks. 30 days living surrounded by the presence of God can really change your life if you only let him. 30 days can test you, try you, break you, strengthen you, move you, change you. I can’t wait for the next 5 months.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
London-Paris, Paris-Milan, Milan-Venice, Venice-Rome, Rome-London
There are my travel plans for Christmas. It’s okay to be a bit jealous. There’s a travel agent who works for Lancaster College who’s helping us plan everything and get the cheapest deals for all of it. It’s going to be fantastic! I can’t wait to go travel around with my friends Corinne and Nicole, (my roomies that don’t live in my room, they live next to me.) We’re going to have some awesome adventures and I can’t wait to go traipsing throughout Europe.
Life has been pretty normal around here. Our first big paper is due on Tuesday….and I still haven’t started. I guess my procrastinating didn’t get left at High School like I hoped :P Anways, Friday and Sunday are being completely filled with writing and getting that paper done. Saturday my friends and I are taking the train to Lancaster, to get some Starbucks and FAST internet to look up stuff for Christmas break. It’ll be nice. REAL ESPRESSO! Gasp. My heart is melting with anticipation of drinking all that Carmel Brule goodness.
Tonight is our 2nd outreach, and we decided (as in my team) that we were going to plan the whole thing. So, tonight, we are playing lots of games to get all their energy out, then we’re going to sing some songs (Wagon Train songs of course, I’m excited to bring “I Like Bananas” to the UK) and then talk about Jonah, with hand-motions of course. It’s such a different dynamic working with 9-11 year olds compared to Jr. Highers. I still like jr. highers better, but these guys are pretty cool too, as long as they don’t play the “Running-Around-Screaming” game they played last week ;)
Tomorrow night we’re having “Social Night” where we go and do different things with different staff. I am staying here and watching Prince of Egypt while pigging out on popcorn and cookies for instance. It’s going to be great, especially since we’ve been reading through the Old Testament, we’ll see it in cartoon-form. Haha.
So that’s about it for now. It’s getting chillier and chillier and I have to keep reminding myself, “It’s not even winter yet Katie.” Oh no. I’m going to freeze.
And oh! I would LOVE for people to send me “snail mail.” It’s so much more exciting to get it than just boring old emails. So if you’re bored one day and have nothing to do, send me a letter! You may just get one back from me if you do ;)
Katelyn MacDonald
Capernwray Hall Bible School
Carnforth, Lancashire
LA6 1AG England
Life has been pretty normal around here. Our first big paper is due on Tuesday….and I still haven’t started. I guess my procrastinating didn’t get left at High School like I hoped :P Anways, Friday and Sunday are being completely filled with writing and getting that paper done. Saturday my friends and I are taking the train to Lancaster, to get some Starbucks and FAST internet to look up stuff for Christmas break. It’ll be nice. REAL ESPRESSO! Gasp. My heart is melting with anticipation of drinking all that Carmel Brule goodness.
Tonight is our 2nd outreach, and we decided (as in my team) that we were going to plan the whole thing. So, tonight, we are playing lots of games to get all their energy out, then we’re going to sing some songs (Wagon Train songs of course, I’m excited to bring “I Like Bananas” to the UK) and then talk about Jonah, with hand-motions of course. It’s such a different dynamic working with 9-11 year olds compared to Jr. Highers. I still like jr. highers better, but these guys are pretty cool too, as long as they don’t play the “Running-Around-Screaming” game they played last week ;)
Tomorrow night we’re having “Social Night” where we go and do different things with different staff. I am staying here and watching Prince of Egypt while pigging out on popcorn and cookies for instance. It’s going to be great, especially since we’ve been reading through the Old Testament, we’ll see it in cartoon-form. Haha.
So that’s about it for now. It’s getting chillier and chillier and I have to keep reminding myself, “It’s not even winter yet Katie.” Oh no. I’m going to freeze.
And oh! I would LOVE for people to send me “snail mail.” It’s so much more exciting to get it than just boring old emails. So if you’re bored one day and have nothing to do, send me a letter! You may just get one back from me if you do ;)
Katelyn MacDonald
Capernwray Hall Bible School
Carnforth, Lancashire
LA6 1AG England
Monday, October 18, 2010
Well let's see here....
Hey friends!
It's been awhile since I've written, so here's the deal on what's been going on inside the life of Katie MacDonald.
Well, Friday was a pretty chill day. I mostly spent it going on walks and hanging out with my roomies. It also involved lots of pictures which in turn involved lots of jumping...and heel clicking....yeah.
Next we headed to The Capernwray Story, where we learned how Capernwray came to be and why it was built. Did you know the entire Manor was built for the Marton family, all 8 of them. They decided they needed a bigger house...ummmyeah. :) After listening to Mrs. Thomas, wife of Major Ian Thomas who started the whole thing, speak about how Capernwray was purchased and so on, we watched a hilarious video made in the 60s. At first it was just a silent film, until a rather hilarious gentlemen decided to commentary the whole thing. That just made it even better.
Saturday started off with waking up at the un-beautiful hour of...8:30, (hey- when it's your only day off to sleep in, 8:30 is early ok?), to do some ZUMBA! Aerobic dance class basically. I sure had no idea what I was doing but it sure was fun! After that we had brunch, and then comes the most exciting part of my day off.....homework! Well ok, it wasn't actually due until 2 weeks from then but I decided to get a head start. Wow- I'm learning more already :P One lady who came to tell us how to do all our assignments told us to reward ourselves with things when we get stuff done....and that didn't include chocolate (boo) so I rewarded myself with a nice long nap. It was glorious. After that me and my friends walked around the loop. We then watched the epic Dodgeball Tournament...it was fantastic. Some of these kids are intense! And my roomie- Pam? She's an ABSOLUTE BEAST! Haha. She's fantastic.
Sunday wasn't really too exciting either, except for the part where Corinne and I ate so much bread at tea time that, even though we had walked the loop twice already, we walked around again! Gotta get rid of all those carbs somehow. :P My favorite part of Sunday however, was when we had mandatory quiet time to reflect on the last couple weeks and hang out with Jesus. It was totally something I needed and was absolutely glorious.
Well, that's basically it. We have a new guest lecturer from Scotland named John Allan and he's teaching us on the book of Ecclesiastes and Living in a Non-Christian world. He talks fast though, so there's no way I can fall asleep without missing something ;)
Miss you all!
It's been awhile since I've written, so here's the deal on what's been going on inside the life of Katie MacDonald.
Well, Friday was a pretty chill day. I mostly spent it going on walks and hanging out with my roomies. It also involved lots of pictures which in turn involved lots of jumping...and heel clicking....yeah.
Next we headed to The Capernwray Story, where we learned how Capernwray came to be and why it was built. Did you know the entire Manor was built for the Marton family, all 8 of them. They decided they needed a bigger house...ummmyeah. :) After listening to Mrs. Thomas, wife of Major Ian Thomas who started the whole thing, speak about how Capernwray was purchased and so on, we watched a hilarious video made in the 60s. At first it was just a silent film, until a rather hilarious gentlemen decided to commentary the whole thing. That just made it even better.
Saturday started off with waking up at the un-beautiful hour of...8:30, (hey- when it's your only day off to sleep in, 8:30 is early ok?), to do some ZUMBA! Aerobic dance class basically. I sure had no idea what I was doing but it sure was fun! After that we had brunch, and then comes the most exciting part of my day off.....homework! Well ok, it wasn't actually due until 2 weeks from then but I decided to get a head start. Wow- I'm learning more already :P One lady who came to tell us how to do all our assignments told us to reward ourselves with things when we get stuff done....and that didn't include chocolate (boo) so I rewarded myself with a nice long nap. It was glorious. After that me and my friends walked around the loop. We then watched the epic Dodgeball Tournament...it was fantastic. Some of these kids are intense! And my roomie- Pam? She's an ABSOLUTE BEAST! Haha. She's fantastic.
Sunday wasn't really too exciting either, except for the part where Corinne and I ate so much bread at tea time that, even though we had walked the loop twice already, we walked around again! Gotta get rid of all those carbs somehow. :P My favorite part of Sunday however, was when we had mandatory quiet time to reflect on the last couple weeks and hang out with Jesus. It was totally something I needed and was absolutely glorious.
Well, that's basically it. We have a new guest lecturer from Scotland named John Allan and he's teaching us on the book of Ecclesiastes and Living in a Non-Christian world. He talks fast though, so there's no way I can fall asleep without missing something ;)
Miss you all!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Africa?
Today we had a meeting about the 10 day outreach in Kenya, Africa in February. I didn't actually go to the meeting because I figured there's no way I would be able to go, no way I could pay for it. But as I was sitting there reading my bible, God just spoke to me and told me, "Of course YOU can't do it, but do you trust me that I can?" And that rocked me. So I walked upstairs, stood outside the door, and it finished right as I got there. I asked one of the students how much it would be. He said 1,000-1,300 pounds. That's about 1,600 american dollars. Once again I just said, "there's no way in heck that I can do that!" And once again, God asked me if I trusted that he can and that he knows what he's doing.
I'm still praying about it. I have no idea how I would get the funds by fundraising while I'm here. They said you can ask your church about it but my church really isn't that big. I know there's nothing that God can't do but sometimes when you can't see an obvious path it's hard to start walking down it. But God told me to walk, so walk I do.
I'd like to ask for prayer for this as these next few months of planning this comes. I don't know when an opportunity like this will ever come up again, and to be logistical, 1600 dollars to go to Africa for 10 days is kind of an amazing deal. To get to work in villages with kids, teach them songs, play with them, build houses, whatever it is that we would do would be such an incredible opportunity, especially since I've already had the opportunity to come here to England.
So that's it. Keep me in your prayers, especially that I would stop doubting the power that God has in my life. He CAN do this. He CAN provide. He CAN sustain. The question is, am I willing to let him?
I'm still praying about it. I have no idea how I would get the funds by fundraising while I'm here. They said you can ask your church about it but my church really isn't that big. I know there's nothing that God can't do but sometimes when you can't see an obvious path it's hard to start walking down it. But God told me to walk, so walk I do.
I'd like to ask for prayer for this as these next few months of planning this comes. I don't know when an opportunity like this will ever come up again, and to be logistical, 1600 dollars to go to Africa for 10 days is kind of an amazing deal. To get to work in villages with kids, teach them songs, play with them, build houses, whatever it is that we would do would be such an incredible opportunity, especially since I've already had the opportunity to come here to England.
So that's it. Keep me in your prayers, especially that I would stop doubting the power that God has in my life. He CAN do this. He CAN provide. He CAN sustain. The question is, am I willing to let him?
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Nothin' too exciting
If there's anything worth saying, it's that I can't believe it's already Wedneday. Seriously, it's going SO fast! I swear it was only Sunday.....anyways. We've just been having letures and such. Our guest lecturer this week is Robert Amess, an old preacher man who's voice I can only compare to Ken Graves,....but way, way cooler, if that's even possible. Every time during lectures I just wish he would take us to the Lounge, build a fire, give us hot chocolate, and then read us The Chronicles of Narnia. It's that epic. Haha. Anyways, he is teaching us on the book of Hebrews. So it's a little crazy, just because Hebrews is such a difficult book to understand for most Christians I think, but we're workin' through and I'm enjoying it.
I start my outreach on Thursday. Me and 3 others are going to a church to hang out with 10-14 year olds to hang out, play games, and get to know them. What's funny is the 3 others in my group don't really like jr-high age kids at all. Haha! It's going to be an adventure. Thank goodness God made my heart loving to all those awkward insecure little kiddos. :P
Other than all that, not too much has been going on. Yesterday was incredibly beautiful, there was sunshine and it was warm! Absolutely wonderful weather to read your bible outside in the sunshine while listening to Michael Buble I believe ;) Today, is the total opposite. Clouds and freezing cold weather that makes me and my roommates flock around the space heater.
Right now I'm hanging out in my neighbors room, because my roomies are gone to Carnforth, and we're just listening to music, finishing out assignments, and enjoying being warm. We keep saying we're going on a LOOONGGG walk to work off those chocolate filled crosissants we had this morning...but I don't think that's actually going to happen. Haha.
Well, sorry it's nothing exciting. I'll update you when I've got more exciting news to post.
And no, I have not met any "Henry James"........yet ;)
I start my outreach on Thursday. Me and 3 others are going to a church to hang out with 10-14 year olds to hang out, play games, and get to know them. What's funny is the 3 others in my group don't really like jr-high age kids at all. Haha! It's going to be an adventure. Thank goodness God made my heart loving to all those awkward insecure little kiddos. :P
Other than all that, not too much has been going on. Yesterday was incredibly beautiful, there was sunshine and it was warm! Absolutely wonderful weather to read your bible outside in the sunshine while listening to Michael Buble I believe ;) Today, is the total opposite. Clouds and freezing cold weather that makes me and my roommates flock around the space heater.
Right now I'm hanging out in my neighbors room, because my roomies are gone to Carnforth, and we're just listening to music, finishing out assignments, and enjoying being warm. We keep saying we're going on a LOOONGGG walk to work off those chocolate filled crosissants we had this morning...but I don't think that's actually going to happen. Haha.
Well, sorry it's nothing exciting. I'll update you when I've got more exciting news to post.
And no, I have not met any "Henry James"........yet ;)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
A Capernwray version of Kajabe-Can-Can, animal calls, newspapers, music, noodles, laughter, fun
Last night was game night. And boy was it intense. Put 140 or so 18-24 year olds in a room and give them some competition and you gotta fun night on your hands. First we played the Capernwray version of Kajabe. Everyone held hands, (we're talking about 70 kids) and stood around 2 blankets around the floor. As you can guess, the point is to get everyone to touch the blanket without you touching it yourself. Sounds easy? Hah. With nothing to grip but two other people's sweaty hands and big giant boys running as fast as they can towards you to make you fall? It's very intense, and not as easy. Of course, growing up at Hume knowing how the game is won, I stayed in a long time, however, I never touched the blanket, but sweaty hands and being pulled two different directions ended that game for me.
Next we played a game called "Animal Family." Everyone gets a piece of paper, and on that paper it will either say: Father, Mother, Master, Miss, and Baby (animal name). Basically, the music plays, and you walk around switching papers between people. When the music stops, you have to read the paper, find out what your animal is, and then, during the mass confusion, find the rest of your animal family by hang motions, noise-making, or whatever it takes to find everyone else. Once everyone is found, you then have to sit in a chair, going in order from Father to Baby. And oh- did I mention you all sit on the same chair? Yes. Mother sits on Father's lap. Master sits on Mother's lap, Miss sits on Master's lap, and Baby sit's on Miss's lap. Awkward? Nah. :P
The next game was by far my favorite. The RA's placed pieces of newspaper on the ground. The music would play and when it stopped, you had to be on a piece of newspaper. Easy right? Sure- until 7 other people want to be on that same newspaper. Everytime I was standing there, desperatly clinging to whoever was next to me, I told them, "Now this is how friend's are made!" The smell of bad breath, sweat, and energy makes the game all that much more fun. However, having an elbow pressed into your collarbone for a long time is not. I still have a bruise. But it was worth it.
There were more games that were played but there weren't as exciting as those. It was a really fun night and made me really get to know more of my Cape family. After this, my roomies and neighbors were really hungry. After unsucessfully calling to try and order Pizza or Chinese Food, we gave up and made Cup-o-Noodles, hot-chocolate, and gathered around a laptop and watched Aladdin. All in all, it was quite a fantastic way to spend a Saturday in England.
Now it's Sunday and after a great church service about how God uses even our stupid mistakes to further his glory, for example, David and Bathsheba, even in their sin, God gave them Solomon, through him came the family line of Jesus. It's still incredible to me that even though we make mistakes, God can use them and turn them into incredible things if we just accept his complete forgiveness and allow him to work.
Now i'm writing my 500 word essay on our bible discussion and reading the book that's supposed to be finished by next week, and then figuring out all this hostel for Edinburgh stuff. Pretty lazy day. Maybe a nice day for a nap too eh? :P
Next we played a game called "Animal Family." Everyone gets a piece of paper, and on that paper it will either say: Father, Mother, Master, Miss, and Baby (animal name). Basically, the music plays, and you walk around switching papers between people. When the music stops, you have to read the paper, find out what your animal is, and then, during the mass confusion, find the rest of your animal family by hang motions, noise-making, or whatever it takes to find everyone else. Once everyone is found, you then have to sit in a chair, going in order from Father to Baby. And oh- did I mention you all sit on the same chair? Yes. Mother sits on Father's lap. Master sits on Mother's lap, Miss sits on Master's lap, and Baby sit's on Miss's lap. Awkward? Nah. :P
The next game was by far my favorite. The RA's placed pieces of newspaper on the ground. The music would play and when it stopped, you had to be on a piece of newspaper. Easy right? Sure- until 7 other people want to be on that same newspaper. Everytime I was standing there, desperatly clinging to whoever was next to me, I told them, "Now this is how friend's are made!" The smell of bad breath, sweat, and energy makes the game all that much more fun. However, having an elbow pressed into your collarbone for a long time is not. I still have a bruise. But it was worth it.
There were more games that were played but there weren't as exciting as those. It was a really fun night and made me really get to know more of my Cape family. After this, my roomies and neighbors were really hungry. After unsucessfully calling to try and order Pizza or Chinese Food, we gave up and made Cup-o-Noodles, hot-chocolate, and gathered around a laptop and watched Aladdin. All in all, it was quite a fantastic way to spend a Saturday in England.
Now it's Sunday and after a great church service about how God uses even our stupid mistakes to further his glory, for example, David and Bathsheba, even in their sin, God gave them Solomon, through him came the family line of Jesus. It's still incredible to me that even though we make mistakes, God can use them and turn them into incredible things if we just accept his complete forgiveness and allow him to work.
Now i'm writing my 500 word essay on our bible discussion and reading the book that's supposed to be finished by next week, and then figuring out all this hostel for Edinburgh stuff. Pretty lazy day. Maybe a nice day for a nap too eh? :P
Friday, October 8, 2010
Star-Tripping, Coffee-Drinking, Bathroom-Cleaning, Thrift-store Shopping, Bible-Reading, Life-Loving
This sums up the majority of what I've been up to these last few days. Playing the epic game called "Star Tipping" where you look up at the night sky, pick the brightest star, spin around as fast as you can looking up at it, and then trying to stay standing when a bright flashlight hits your face. It's hilarious.
Today we had work day, which is where instead of paying people to come clean the building, the students clean it. We get put on teams and then set off to clean from 9-12:30. I cleaned with a girl named Raquel, who's from Barcelona. That's Bar-tha-lona, for all those of you who don't know how real Spain- spanish is spoken. :) We cleaned the staff guys dorms and bathrooms.....da da daaaaa. It wasn't too bad, in fact, we even found a radio to listen to music while we cleaned so it was pretty great. Next week we get to have another lecture and then the week after that we'll clean again. It's not too bad, after all, my dad did teach me how to clean a toilet reeeeaaaallllly good. ;)
Later today I went into Carnforth, to get money out of the ATM...let me tell you, it was realll weird to see the machine spit out pounds and not dollars. But I must say that the Queen's face is much lovelier than our dead Presidents. :P
We hung out, went thrift store shopping, and then went to the cutest little cafe called Cafe Eldeweiss...or however you spell it. I had a yummy espresso coffee and a scone. It was delicious!
Tonight we are having a bonfire and then we're going to watch Hook on the big screen in the Conference Hall where we have our lectures. It'll be nice to relax for a bit. Saturday though will be spent frantically searching for a youth hostel to stay in during our travel weekend trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. There's no way I'm payin' 90 pounds for a B&B! Besides, it's an adventure, staying in a room of up to 36 strangers! Haha, don't worry, I'm not going it alone ;)
Love you and miss you all!
Today we had work day, which is where instead of paying people to come clean the building, the students clean it. We get put on teams and then set off to clean from 9-12:30. I cleaned with a girl named Raquel, who's from Barcelona. That's Bar-tha-lona, for all those of you who don't know how real Spain- spanish is spoken. :) We cleaned the staff guys dorms and bathrooms.....da da daaaaa. It wasn't too bad, in fact, we even found a radio to listen to music while we cleaned so it was pretty great. Next week we get to have another lecture and then the week after that we'll clean again. It's not too bad, after all, my dad did teach me how to clean a toilet reeeeaaaallllly good. ;)
Later today I went into Carnforth, to get money out of the ATM...let me tell you, it was realll weird to see the machine spit out pounds and not dollars. But I must say that the Queen's face is much lovelier than our dead Presidents. :P
We hung out, went thrift store shopping, and then went to the cutest little cafe called Cafe Eldeweiss...or however you spell it. I had a yummy espresso coffee and a scone. It was delicious!
Tonight we are having a bonfire and then we're going to watch Hook on the big screen in the Conference Hall where we have our lectures. It'll be nice to relax for a bit. Saturday though will be spent frantically searching for a youth hostel to stay in during our travel weekend trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. There's no way I'm payin' 90 pounds for a B&B! Besides, it's an adventure, staying in a room of up to 36 strangers! Haha, don't worry, I'm not going it alone ;)
Love you and miss you all!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
England may love them, but I am not a fan of currant-flavored cough drops...
Hello there!
Oh goodness. Yesterday my roommate Pam and I had a total of 4 naps throughout the day, and my whole room went to bed by 10. 10! That's insane. Especially because lights out isn't until 11:30. My throat is getting sore and my head is really hurting so that's no fun. It took all that I was just to say awake during lectures this morning. We continued to Walk Thru The Bible, which is very interesting how we learn all the things and remember them, but when you're head is pounding, it's not that great. After that we had a bible discussion asking the questions: 1.How was the bible written? and how was it written?, Why do you believe this?, and, How should the Bible be read and applied in your life?
It was really interesting to hear others opinions and be able to talk and discuss with others what you thought and what you believed. I really enjoyed it.
After a lunch of sweet and sour pork and cos cos, I headed back to my room to start working on my 500 word essay on our discussion. And that's about as far as I got. :P
Tomorrow we have a test on "Intro to the Bible," however, it was kind of hard to understand what our lecturer really wanted us to do, but I for sure know that I must know all the book of the N.T in order, which I do, thanks to falling asleep to the girls next door singing the song at the top of their lungs, and know some of the chronological events of the O.T.
Hopefully it'll go well. After I work some more on my reading I'm going to take another nap, hopefully to rest my immune system a bit and so I'll be refreshed for another 2 hours of lectures tonight.
:)
Oh goodness. Yesterday my roommate Pam and I had a total of 4 naps throughout the day, and my whole room went to bed by 10. 10! That's insane. Especially because lights out isn't until 11:30. My throat is getting sore and my head is really hurting so that's no fun. It took all that I was just to say awake during lectures this morning. We continued to Walk Thru The Bible, which is very interesting how we learn all the things and remember them, but when you're head is pounding, it's not that great. After that we had a bible discussion asking the questions: 1.How was the bible written? and how was it written?, Why do you believe this?, and, How should the Bible be read and applied in your life?
It was really interesting to hear others opinions and be able to talk and discuss with others what you thought and what you believed. I really enjoyed it.
After a lunch of sweet and sour pork and cos cos, I headed back to my room to start working on my 500 word essay on our discussion. And that's about as far as I got. :P
Tomorrow we have a test on "Intro to the Bible," however, it was kind of hard to understand what our lecturer really wanted us to do, but I for sure know that I must know all the book of the N.T in order, which I do, thanks to falling asleep to the girls next door singing the song at the top of their lungs, and know some of the chronological events of the O.T.
Hopefully it'll go well. After I work some more on my reading I'm going to take another nap, hopefully to rest my immune system a bit and so I'll be refreshed for another 2 hours of lectures tonight.
:)
Sunday, October 3, 2010
COLORING!
Sorry it's been a couple days since I last posted. Let's catch up on what's been going on.
So, after my walk on Friday, we had dinner and then family group. It was fantastic! They took us to their house, fed us Pizza and Chips...(French Fries for you un-british people), and then "Apple Crumble and Ice Cream." It was SO. GOOD. We played games, got to know each other a bit more, was reminded that Sue Gilmore prayed individually over each person to figure out what family group that we were put in, so I'm excited to really get to know my family. After family group, we hung out for awhile and then, after singing a bunch of Disney songs with my roomies, went to sleep. And then...gasp! Sleep in day! It was FANTASTIC! I slept in until 9:30...it was absolutely wonderful!
After enjoying not having to be anywhere for awhile, we headed to brunch where we had real breakfast food! Eggs! Bacon! Croissants! Beans....yes, beans. It was fantastic...I ate a lot. After breakfast me and my roomie Rachel and her friend Amanda began the journey to Carnforth...all 5 miles of it. After about a little more than an hour of walking, Graih, one of the workers, drove by and picked us up. It was brillant! I absolutely LOVE Carnforth! I didn't get to experience as much of it and explore as much of it as I liked too since the people I was with didn't really want to..but I still have 6 months to do that :) I bought a cute little jacket for 3 pounds at the Thrift Store, and some much needed Shampoo and Conditioner. We started to walk back...but I won't tell you how we got picked up in a car....except that in England, holding out your thumb is quite normal and happens all the time....don't freak out!
After coming back from a long tiring walk, we went to dinner and had donuts! Donuts and Lasagna and freaking amazing garlic bread! It was splendid. After that we had free time and then we all watched UP on the big screen in the Conference Hall. It was a blast. I really do love that movie. Lots of the European students hadn't seen it yet, so it was fun to watch them watch it.
Today it was raining, and we had church in the morning, and then lunch, and then....da da da daaaa...roommate and neighbor Cinderella watching- Princess Coloring Book- coloring afternoon! It was soo much fun!
Now I think it's time for a Sunday afternoon nap and then tea...as they call "dinner" here.
Cheerio Loves!
So, after my walk on Friday, we had dinner and then family group. It was fantastic! They took us to their house, fed us Pizza and Chips...(French Fries for you un-british people), and then "Apple Crumble and Ice Cream." It was SO. GOOD. We played games, got to know each other a bit more, was reminded that Sue Gilmore prayed individually over each person to figure out what family group that we were put in, so I'm excited to really get to know my family. After family group, we hung out for awhile and then, after singing a bunch of Disney songs with my roomies, went to sleep. And then...gasp! Sleep in day! It was FANTASTIC! I slept in until 9:30...it was absolutely wonderful!
After enjoying not having to be anywhere for awhile, we headed to brunch where we had real breakfast food! Eggs! Bacon! Croissants! Beans....yes, beans. It was fantastic...I ate a lot. After breakfast me and my roomie Rachel and her friend Amanda began the journey to Carnforth...all 5 miles of it. After about a little more than an hour of walking, Graih, one of the workers, drove by and picked us up. It was brillant! I absolutely LOVE Carnforth! I didn't get to experience as much of it and explore as much of it as I liked too since the people I was with didn't really want to..but I still have 6 months to do that :) I bought a cute little jacket for 3 pounds at the Thrift Store, and some much needed Shampoo and Conditioner. We started to walk back...but I won't tell you how we got picked up in a car....except that in England, holding out your thumb is quite normal and happens all the time....don't freak out!
After coming back from a long tiring walk, we went to dinner and had donuts! Donuts and Lasagna and freaking amazing garlic bread! It was splendid. After that we had free time and then we all watched UP on the big screen in the Conference Hall. It was a blast. I really do love that movie. Lots of the European students hadn't seen it yet, so it was fun to watch them watch it.
Today it was raining, and we had church in the morning, and then lunch, and then....da da da daaaa...roommate and neighbor Cinderella watching- Princess Coloring Book- coloring afternoon! It was soo much fun!
Now I think it's time for a Sunday afternoon nap and then tea...as they call "dinner" here.
Cheerio Loves!
Friday, October 1, 2010
"Worship is all that we are, responding to all that HE is."
Well, it's raining again. So much for that glorious sunshine. I think I may even be getting just slightly claustrophobic being surrounded by all these gray clouds. haha.
This morning, after going to get my clothes from the dryer, found out that they were indeed, still wet. And not having 20 pence to pay for another 10 minutes, had to leave with them damp. They are now hanging as close to the space heater as possible. What a life.
This morning is either Work or Seminar morning. I am on team B so I got to go to the seminar. It's basically 4 hours of listening to a speaker. It was good, but ohhhhh man was I getting fidgity...let me out of here! Carolyn the outreach director spoke on Worship and planning services. It was really interesting and I learned a lot about what "worship" is and how it's done differently and what it really means to come back to "the heart" of worship.
Now I'm just sitting in my room listening to music, reading the 6 chapters of bible that needs to be read today while listening to Hillsong United. Did I mention we were reading through the entire new testament? Or that we are also reading through the entire new testament? Or that we have to memorize the books of the bible in order? And also 20 verses from all over the bible? Yeah...I didn't think I did.
Regular "school" starts on Monday...I'm excited to see what we'll do but not looking foward to all the assignments. Oh geez, welcome to college level work Katie. :)
This weekend some friends and I are going to walk into Carnforth and hang out, window shop (since we're poor international students), and then go eat delicious Chinese food at one of the restaurants there. Hopefully I'll be able to get internet I will post some pics.
Miss you! Be good and make good choices today!
This morning, after going to get my clothes from the dryer, found out that they were indeed, still wet. And not having 20 pence to pay for another 10 minutes, had to leave with them damp. They are now hanging as close to the space heater as possible. What a life.
This morning is either Work or Seminar morning. I am on team B so I got to go to the seminar. It's basically 4 hours of listening to a speaker. It was good, but ohhhhh man was I getting fidgity...let me out of here! Carolyn the outreach director spoke on Worship and planning services. It was really interesting and I learned a lot about what "worship" is and how it's done differently and what it really means to come back to "the heart" of worship.
Now I'm just sitting in my room listening to music, reading the 6 chapters of bible that needs to be read today while listening to Hillsong United. Did I mention we were reading through the entire new testament? Or that we are also reading through the entire new testament? Or that we have to memorize the books of the bible in order? And also 20 verses from all over the bible? Yeah...I didn't think I did.
Regular "school" starts on Monday...I'm excited to see what we'll do but not looking foward to all the assignments. Oh geez, welcome to college level work Katie. :)
This weekend some friends and I are going to walk into Carnforth and hang out, window shop (since we're poor international students), and then go eat delicious Chinese food at one of the restaurants there. Hopefully I'll be able to get internet I will post some pics.
Miss you! Be good and make good choices today!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sunshine Lollipops and Rainbows....
SUNSHINE!
Now I understand why the Beatles wrote: "Here Comes the Sun." It truly is a magical thing to see it's golden rays poking out from beneath the never-ending expanse of gray clouds, even if it is only for a few minutes before it goes back into hiding.
Today has been an incredible day so far. We had morning lectures, and then split the boys and girls into different groups. The women staff of Capernwray had us all stand in the middle of the room, and then they stood around us and one by one prayed for all of us. They prayed for things like home-sickness, not fitting in, feeling lonely, being beautiful in God's eyes, not comparing each other or competing against each other, and also that God would radically open our eyes to his will and that we would not be the same people who walked in those doors. It was truly beautiful. We got secret sisters, which they say is so "North-American." haha. I'm excited for it.
After that we had 2 more lectures and then headed out to lunch. And oh heavens. It was SO GOOD! It was beef curry, rice, and...gasp! Nan bread! It took me back to good times in Japan eating CoCo's Chicken Cutlet Curry and Nan bread. It was so fantastic, that my table hardly talked we were just eating as fast as we could. It's the first meal I've walked away from feeling full...since I've been here. There's really no worry about gaining a "freshman 15" when they don't feed you lots!
After sitting on a bench soaking up the beautiful sunshine, I went to talk to Carolyn Keats, director of Outreach, and I'm going to be on the Jr. High Outreach program and leading worship. I am SO EXCITED to get to work with Jr. Highers again. They truly are the best...and the craziest :P
After this I'm going to head out on a walk around the loop to go sit by the pond and play my guitar and read my bible with my friend Kate. The sun is out and I can already tell it's going to be amazing. I'm really trying to relax as much as I can before all the assignments begin and I'll actually have homework again.
Cheerio darlings!
Now I understand why the Beatles wrote: "Here Comes the Sun." It truly is a magical thing to see it's golden rays poking out from beneath the never-ending expanse of gray clouds, even if it is only for a few minutes before it goes back into hiding.
Today has been an incredible day so far. We had morning lectures, and then split the boys and girls into different groups. The women staff of Capernwray had us all stand in the middle of the room, and then they stood around us and one by one prayed for all of us. They prayed for things like home-sickness, not fitting in, feeling lonely, being beautiful in God's eyes, not comparing each other or competing against each other, and also that God would radically open our eyes to his will and that we would not be the same people who walked in those doors. It was truly beautiful. We got secret sisters, which they say is so "North-American." haha. I'm excited for it.
After that we had 2 more lectures and then headed out to lunch. And oh heavens. It was SO GOOD! It was beef curry, rice, and...gasp! Nan bread! It took me back to good times in Japan eating CoCo's Chicken Cutlet Curry and Nan bread. It was so fantastic, that my table hardly talked we were just eating as fast as we could. It's the first meal I've walked away from feeling full...since I've been here. There's really no worry about gaining a "freshman 15" when they don't feed you lots!
After sitting on a bench soaking up the beautiful sunshine, I went to talk to Carolyn Keats, director of Outreach, and I'm going to be on the Jr. High Outreach program and leading worship. I am SO EXCITED to get to work with Jr. Highers again. They truly are the best...and the craziest :P
After this I'm going to head out on a walk around the loop to go sit by the pond and play my guitar and read my bible with my friend Kate. The sun is out and I can already tell it's going to be amazing. I'm really trying to relax as much as I can before all the assignments begin and I'll actually have homework again.
Cheerio darlings!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
9 units. 1500 word essays. Leading group discussions. 10 day outreach. 6 months. Madness.
We went through our course schedule today......and if I thought regular school was hard...geez I was not expecting this. However, it is all interesting and things I actually want to learn about so that makes it a lot better.
We met with our "family groups"this morning...aka the Capernwray version of Pause groups. My family is awesome and I love our family parents. We get to go to their house of Friday to make pizza and play games...our Family dad is a really funny old Irish man and his wife is the sweetest little English lady. It'll be a blast. (And oh- just so you know, an Ijit, is an Irish Idiot....that's what I learned today :P)
It keeps raining, as rain is in the forecast for the next 4 days, but that's England for you!
We've learned all the things we have to study and all the things we have to lead and all that other stuff, it was a little stressful but I'll get through it....hopefully ;)
The internet is still slow and all that but I'm getting more used to it. Who needs to be on facebook everyday anyway? :P
I'm going to be on the worship team and I am super excited for that, I can't wait to lead others before the throne through music. It's going to be fantastic.
This weekend is a travel weekend to the Lake District but I'm not going...because I'm saving up my money for Liverpool where the Beatles came from....and Pemberly...well, actually, it's not called Pemberly but it's Mr.Darcy's house from Pride and Prejudice for those of you who don't know. :P
Well that's it for now, when I actually have exciting news I will post it...and when I get better internet (hopefully on Saturday when everyone is gone on the trip..wink wink) I will be sure to try and post some pics. Love you all!
We met with our "family groups"this morning...aka the Capernwray version of Pause groups. My family is awesome and I love our family parents. We get to go to their house of Friday to make pizza and play games...our Family dad is a really funny old Irish man and his wife is the sweetest little English lady. It'll be a blast. (And oh- just so you know, an Ijit, is an Irish Idiot....that's what I learned today :P)
It keeps raining, as rain is in the forecast for the next 4 days, but that's England for you!
We've learned all the things we have to study and all the things we have to lead and all that other stuff, it was a little stressful but I'll get through it....hopefully ;)
The internet is still slow and all that but I'm getting more used to it. Who needs to be on facebook everyday anyway? :P
I'm going to be on the worship team and I am super excited for that, I can't wait to lead others before the throne through music. It's going to be fantastic.
This weekend is a travel weekend to the Lake District but I'm not going...because I'm saving up my money for Liverpool where the Beatles came from....and Pemberly...well, actually, it's not called Pemberly but it's Mr.Darcy's house from Pride and Prejudice for those of you who don't know. :P
Well that's it for now, when I actually have exciting news I will post it...and when I get better internet (hopefully on Saturday when everyone is gone on the trip..wink wink) I will be sure to try and post some pics. Love you all!
Monday, September 27, 2010
SLLLOOOWWWWW internet
I can't complain about Hume internet anymore, this is 10 times worse :P
I'm havin' fun and getting stuff situated, figuring out where I'm workin, getting to know my roommates, attempting to stay warm, dreaming about good coffee, missing Chic-fil-a, but all in all, having an AWESOME time!
Send me mail! It's so exciting to get letters, and since email is so shaky, letters would probably be best.
I wrote the address in an earlier post, but if it says LAG 1A6, then it's wrong. It's LA6 1AG
:)
miss you all!
I'm havin' fun and getting stuff situated, figuring out where I'm workin, getting to know my roommates, attempting to stay warm, dreaming about good coffee, missing Chic-fil-a, but all in all, having an AWESOME time!
Send me mail! It's so exciting to get letters, and since email is so shaky, letters would probably be best.
I wrote the address in an earlier post, but if it says LAG 1A6, then it's wrong. It's LA6 1AG
:)
miss you all!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
120 girls. 55 boys.
Capernwray Bible School. It's incredible, and love it here already. I've already gotten to know so many people and it's amazing how quickly we all connected. I don't live in the castle, unfortunately, but my room under the conference hall by the garden is roomy and I love my roommates. I've got 3 other girls, 2 from Canada, 1 from Portland. I think we'll get along well, none of them snore so that's a bonus ;) And after all, we can only upgrade from here, in January, it's Castle time.
Yesterday as we arrived and our principal Rob Whittaker introduced the staff, one of the first things he said was, "As of right now we have about 174 students, not all of them are here, but gentelmen, you'll love to hear this, : 120 girls, 55 boys." Everyone laughed. It's going to be a good year. So daddy don't worry, there aren't any British boys who've caught my eye, but there are some Canadians and Italians ;)
Today we've had breakfast, cereal and croissants no less, and then headed out to church. I've done some exploring, took some awesome pictures, hung out with some cool people, ate a lunch of dry chicken and..gasp! potatoes :P, and now we're heading out on a walk throughout the countryside. And, tut tut, it looks like rain. Time to finally wear my Wellies and carry my umbrella. I can't wait!
I miss you all!
And oh- I only have internet from 2-5 and 9-10 my time, so either 6-10 am or 4-5 pm your time. So if you REALLLLLY wanna Skype with me, it's gotta be early ;)
Yesterday as we arrived and our principal Rob Whittaker introduced the staff, one of the first things he said was, "As of right now we have about 174 students, not all of them are here, but gentelmen, you'll love to hear this, : 120 girls, 55 boys." Everyone laughed. It's going to be a good year. So daddy don't worry, there aren't any British boys who've caught my eye, but there are some Canadians and Italians ;)
Today we've had breakfast, cereal and croissants no less, and then headed out to church. I've done some exploring, took some awesome pictures, hung out with some cool people, ate a lunch of dry chicken and..gasp! potatoes :P, and now we're heading out on a walk throughout the countryside. And, tut tut, it looks like rain. Time to finally wear my Wellies and carry my umbrella. I can't wait!
I miss you all!
And oh- I only have internet from 2-5 and 9-10 my time, so either 6-10 am or 4-5 pm your time. So if you REALLLLLY wanna Skype with me, it's gotta be early ;)
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Oh hello England :)
Made it safe! Plane ride was long, I sat in the middle, next to two older ladies who didn't talk. Landed all right, found a girl going to Cape on the same flight as me, met up with everybody, headed out to the Victoria Coach, and now we're all on 2 giant buses driving through the English countryside.
I already love all the people I'm with and can't wait to be at the castle hanging out with these awesome people.
Keep me in your prayers! I love and miss you all!
I already love all the people I'm with and can't wait to be at the castle hanging out with these awesome people.
Keep me in your prayers! I love and miss you all!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Sittin' in LAX
Woke up early this morning, spending it trying not to cry. Made it to the airport at a wonderful time of 8:45...then found out my flight didn't leave until 12:45. Oops ;)
Ate some breakfast since I was ravishing, and then it was back to the airport. Cried in the parking lot, waitedin line, found out I did have to pay for an extra bag, lost 50 bucks that way, made it into the security line, got stopped for having a laptop in the bag, then had to have my bag checked twice because the security guy saw something sharp...which turned out to be my crayons for my princess coloring book my parents bought me :P
Now I'm sitting in the airport, waiting to board my flight.
Keep me in your prayers, and that I meet everyone I need to meet up with, and that our flight goes well. I love you all!
Katie
Ate some breakfast since I was ravishing, and then it was back to the airport. Cried in the parking lot, waitedin line, found out I did have to pay for an extra bag, lost 50 bucks that way, made it into the security line, got stopped for having a laptop in the bag, then had to have my bag checked twice because the security guy saw something sharp...which turned out to be my crayons for my princess coloring book my parents bought me :P
Now I'm sitting in the airport, waiting to board my flight.
Keep me in your prayers, and that I meet everyone I need to meet up with, and that our flight goes well. I love you all!
Katie
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The Last Day
It's finally arrived. The last day at home. After months of praying, dreaming, and counting down, the day has arrived. So far it's been spent lying on the couch, thinking about all the things I need to do, and not acting on them at all. My last day at home, where my parents are in charge, there's no such thing as rent, and the food is free. Soon that's all about to change, so I'm enjoying it while I can.
I can't believe the house that's been my home for the past 10 years won't be quite, mine, anymore. But I suppose everyone has to grow up sometime. As my mom always quotes to me, "You're gonna miss this." Yeah mom, I am.
Tonight the tears will fall as I say goodbye to my family, my community, my friends. Sad, but not at the same time, because this place bonds us together. It's not a "goodbye" really, it's just a "see-you-later." Yes, I'll miss them. But it's not the end. Like many cheesy movie sayings before me, "It's just the beginning."
The beginning of one of the coolest and one of many adventures I'm bound to have in this life. I can't wait.
My flight leaves LAX at 11:45 a.m on Friday, the 24th. I land at 7:10 a.m across the pond in Heathrow. Please pray for safety, and that I meet up with everyone I need to at the right time. Pray for the people I sit next to on the plane, that I will shine Christ's light brightly and not be afraid. Pray for my family as their baby girl leaves the nest.
Pray for this next year, that God will absolutely rock my world.
If you would like to send me letters, which I would LOVE by the way, here is my address:
Katelyn MacDonald
Capernwray Hall
Carnforth
Lancashire
LA6 1AG
Keep watching, the next blog post just might be from across the pond ;)
I can't believe the house that's been my home for the past 10 years won't be quite, mine, anymore. But I suppose everyone has to grow up sometime. As my mom always quotes to me, "You're gonna miss this." Yeah mom, I am.
Tonight the tears will fall as I say goodbye to my family, my community, my friends. Sad, but not at the same time, because this place bonds us together. It's not a "goodbye" really, it's just a "see-you-later." Yes, I'll miss them. But it's not the end. Like many cheesy movie sayings before me, "It's just the beginning."
The beginning of one of the coolest and one of many adventures I'm bound to have in this life. I can't wait.
My flight leaves LAX at 11:45 a.m on Friday, the 24th. I land at 7:10 a.m across the pond in Heathrow. Please pray for safety, and that I meet up with everyone I need to at the right time. Pray for the people I sit next to on the plane, that I will shine Christ's light brightly and not be afraid. Pray for my family as their baby girl leaves the nest.
Pray for this next year, that God will absolutely rock my world.
If you would like to send me letters, which I would LOVE by the way, here is my address:
Katelyn MacDonald
Capernwray Hall
Carnforth
Lancashire
LA6 1AG
Keep watching, the next blog post just might be from across the pond ;)
Monday, September 20, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
5 days left on the mountain...
I cried my first tears about leaving the other night while I was laying in bed thinking about my family. I'm going to miss them, even though they think I won't. I'm going to miss seeing my little brother grow taller, laugh as his voice starts to crack, and roll my eyes as he does all those weird things 11 year olds do. I'm going to miss going to see my mama at work. I'm going to miss hi-fiving my daddy. I'm going to miss listening to the silence on the othe end of the line as my sister tells me all about her day in 3 word sentences. I'm going to miss my friends. I'm going to miss my bed. I'm going to miss these mountains, this lake, this incredible view.
But, as much as I'm going to miss it all, I'm more excited about this next adventure. Sure I'll miss everyone and everything, but the excitement overwhelms the sadness, in a way that I'm so thankful for. If I didn't have such an independent spirit, I would absolutely be freaking out right now. But thankfully, God didn't make me afraid of things. He made me in the exact way that he planned, exactly for moments like these, where I can be excited for change instead of dreading it. I am so thankful for a God who knows me better than I can even begin to understand. So thankful for the love of the Savior who choses to go before me so that I know I'll be ok, because I'm always safe in his hands. And oh how that thought calms my anxious mind.
So yes, I will miss my home. But God knows me, planned out my life for me, has everything under control. So who am I to dwell on sadness, when I can be excited that the God of the Universe has every single step under control?
Thursday, September 16, 2010
One more week
One more week in my room, in my bed, surrounded by all my things, listening to the dryer dry all my clothes for free, hearing the sound of my brother stomping upstairs like all 11 year olds do, turning my head to tell my dad about my day as he leans on the doorframe, sitting in the comfortble silence watching Say Yes to the Dress with my mom, one more week ofbeing surrounded by all things that are familiar. One more week under my parents guidance, one more week of being cared for by everyone I know, one more week of home.
In one week I will leave all this behind for something completely foreign. In one week 'home' will just be a distant memory. In one week, God is going to rock my world.
In one week, my life will change as I jump on an airplane and just.... go.
I can't wait.
In one week I will leave all this behind for something completely foreign. In one week 'home' will just be a distant memory. In one week, God is going to rock my world.
In one week, my life will change as I jump on an airplane and just.... go.
I can't wait.
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